All Black captain Richie McCaw was labelled ‘dumb’ by his coach Steve Hansen after being sent to the sin as the defending champions opened their World Cup campaign with a shaky win over Argentina.

The world’s most capped player of all time was handed only the third yellow card of his 143rd by English referee Wayne Barnes when he intentionally tripped up Pumas flanker Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe 29 minutes in.

Nine minutes later, McCaw's team-mate Conrad Smith was also handed a yellow card as the All Blacks went in 13-12 down at half time before replacement Sonny Bill Williams inspired a second-half revival which saw the New Zealanders win 24-16.

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Referee Wayne Barnes shows the yellow card and indicates that McCaw had been penalised for a trip

McCaw was left to sit on the bench for ten minutes and admitted 'It was dumb that I was sitting there'

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The All Blacks' stuttering first-half display, in front of a world record crowd of 89,019 at Wembley, was put down to nerves and ill-discipline by their coach.

Hansen added: ‘The scoreboard reflects that it was very, very hard. It took a long time to get on top.

‘The fact we gave away two yellow cards, both warranted, meant we played for 20 minutes with only 14 players. That makes it a bit tougher.

'In saying that I thought our players showed a lot of fortitude. We’re on track and we’ll improve from there.’

McCaw waits to come back on, as he is booed by much of the Wembley crowd during the game

Smith was also shown a yellow card, with the All Blacks playing with just 13 men for a short period

While the crowd enjoyed an outstanding match, McCaw was twice roundly booed when he appeared on the giant screen.

‘It’s normal over here,’ Hansen added. ‘It’s been happening for years. We’ll take it with a grain of salt and for what it is which is a mark of respect for a great player. You don’t get booed unless you’re any good. If you’re no good, no one cares.’

McCaw, sitting alongside his coach, agreed with Hansen's assessment.

‘I was sitting in the sin bin at the time so I didn’t really have a lot of comeback,’ he said of the booing.

‘It was dumb that I was sitting there. It was a dumb mistake I made. It is what it is. It’s happened before and getting wound up about it is not going to help. It’s a way of putting people off but you can’t let it affect you.’